MALACANANG has apologized for the inverted presidential seal on the rostrum of President Rodrigo Duterte when he delivered a speech in Davao City on Friday.

In a statement on Saturday, Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella said there was no intention to embarrass Duterte during his speech at the 11th Ambassador’s Tour Philippine Reception.

“An error was committed in the installation of the presidential seal at an event in Davao City yesterday (Friday). There was, however, no attempt to embarrass the President,” Abella said.

He said all offices tasked in handling Duterte’s public engagements “sincerely apologized” and assured the public that there would be no repeat of such incident.

“A careful study determined the incident as an act of omission. Appropriate measures have been taken against those responsible,” Abella said.

“All Offices involved in presidential visits and coverage have, upon meticulous review, instituted procedures to prevent the occurrence of a similar incident. All Offices concerned sincerely apologize for the incident and renewed the shared commitment to uphold the highest standard of service and support for the President and all his engagements,” he added.

State-run media Radio-Television Malacañang (RTVM) streamed Duterte’s usual lengthy, extemporaneous speech delivered late Friday and took a close shot on the presidential seal positioned at the bottom of the podium.

About three minutes after, RTVM cropped the presidential seal out of the frame after it realized that it was upside down.